As told by Rashid Ahmod (60 years)
Kutapalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh
There was once a hunter in a village. He spent his days hunting and trapping animals. One day, while hunting in a valley, he trapped in his net a group of beautiful heron.
The birds could hardly move at all, held tightly in the net. In their panic, some birds began pulling the nets south and north, while others were pulling the group west and east. As a result, the flock of heron traveled awkwardly across the valley, neither traveling north nor south, nor east nor west.
Among them, a wise elderly heron spoke up.
“My brothers and sisters,” he said.
“Please listen to me, we will never be set free unless we work together!”
“Before the hunter returns, let’s fly back down to the ground where we can work to free ourselves. If we continue to each fly in our own directions, we will surely be caught by the hunter and we will surely be finished!”
The younger birds immediately agreed. Working together, they flew to an open clearing on the ground where they could all land together.
Much to their delight, in the clearing the flock found a rat, searching for something delicious to eat.
“Hello! Good morning, Mr Rat!” the birds said as they greeted him.
“Hello!” the rat responded.
“What has happened to all of you and why are you caught in that trap?” the rat asked, looking curiously at the net that had trapped all of the birds.
The birds explained to him that the hunter had trapped them earlier that day, and that they were trying to escape.
At last, the rat understood. He said, “You don’t need to worry, I am here to help you all. I will chew through all of the ropes!”
The heron all became so happy, they started squawking with joy. The rat began cutting the strands of the ropes one by one.
Finally, the birds were released from the trap and set out to find their respective nests.
Although the hunter had tried his very best to follow the birds, he was unable to catch them when they all worked together.
Rezuwan’s note:
Every parents used to tell this story to their children.
I recorded this story in a tent with Rashid’s family after the family had finished dinner. He had seven sons and two daughters, but he was unable able to control all of them and they brothers frequently quarreled. So the they often assemble them after dinner at night and admonish them to work with unity and tried to impress on them how important it is in real life by telling these folk stories.